I've realized: I write to be somewhere other than where I am. Over the years, I've found my favorite non-where to be is Bluffton, a little town in the Driftless Zone of the Upper Midwest. Whenever I'm here, I'm there. Come visit.

NEW YORK Well, Ann Coulter may be "liberal" in one respect, anyway. The New York Post reported Sunday that author/columnist Coulter "cribbed liberally in her latest book" and also in several of her syndicated columns, according to a plagiarism expert.

John Barrie, creator of the iThenticate plagiarism-probing system, claimed he found at least three examples of what he called "textbook plagiarism" in the new Coulter book "Godless" after he ran its text through the program.

He also discovered verbatim copying in Coulter's weekly column, which is syndicated to more than 100 newspapers by Universal.

Bloggers had been citing examples of alleged Coulter cribbing for months.

After detailing some of the alleged plagiarism in the book, the Post article related that Barrie also ran Coulter's columns from the past year through iThenticate "and found similar patterns of cribbing.

"Her Aug. 3, 2005, column, 'Read My Lips: No New Liberals,' about U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter, includes six passages, ranging from 10 to 48 words each, that appeared 15 years earlier in the same order in an L.A. Times article, headlined 'Liberals Leery as New Clues Surface on Souter's Views.' But nowhere in that column does she mention the L.A. Times or the story's writer, David G. Savage.

"Her June 29, 2005, column, 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Religion,' incorporates 10 facts on National Endowment for the Arts-funded work that originally appeared in the same order in a 1991 Heritage Foundation report, 'The National Endowment for the Arts: Misusing Taxpayers' Money.' But again, the Heritage Foundation isn't credited."

Barrie said, "Just as Coulter plays free and loose with her citations in 'Godless,' she obviously does the same in her columns."

Meanwhile, many of the 344 citations Coulter includes in "Godless" "are very misleading," said Barrie, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, where he specialized in pattern recognition.

"They're used purely to try and give the book a higher level of credibility - as if it's an academic work. But her sloppiness in failing to properly attribute many other passages strips it of nearly all its academic merits," he told The Post.

13 comments:

When reading about the Nazi era in Europe, I'm often interested by the psychology of the little jackals who slavered after the big predators-- lots of opportunists like Coulter who used hate speech to build a career.

(Caroline age:14) Well if you think you have it bad with her I found out in the middle of last year that her youngest brother james was cheating with my mom! I "threatened" to send all of his nasty e-ails to Anne, his mom, and his wife that he doesn't even love! He said stuff like "Let's go to a motel and make love for hours"-James Coulter. They are all wack-jobs!!HE is a chicken and all they do is put cease and disist orders on people. I could've gone to jail for that for 10 to 15 years! Ihate both of them deeply!

What a bitch! There's nothing in this world that could ever decrease my concentrated hatred and loathe for her! EVER! She actually had the nerve to call Bill Clinton a homosexual! Probably because he didn't hit on her scrawny ass!

I hate anne coulter so so much that i have decided not to even capitlize her disgusting name. How can America put up with such a worthless little piece of trash? Why don't we just tie her up to a crapy wooden raft and sail her across the ocean and into the middle east where she can join the talaban or something. Not even those kind of people could tolerate her and her hatred towards America and the rest of the world.

I don't think there's a single individual in the whole wide world who truly likes Anne Coulter the least bit especially after one of her most recent complaints about homosexuals. I hate her and anything and everything she'll ever want to say. Her family is probably obligated to agree with her and if they had a choice, I'm sure they wouldn't support her or anything that she does. Just imagine all of the bull they have to put up with because of her. Her husband at work and her kids in school. I pitty them. I imagine that not even Anne herself can live with the dispicable nonscence that she talks about. If infact she really is a good person at heart,she must become posessed by the devil and say the ridiculous things she does.

Anne Coulter is truly without doubt a fire-breathing maniac. Something must be done about the beast. I am but to wonder if she has ever befriended a homosexual. If not, she should at the least attempt it. I'm aware that she chose the term "faggot" "Just a joking playful school yard phrase" (as she refers to it) to describe former and respected president Bill Clinton. Simply proof of her idiocy. It seems as though her open and highly confident inappriciation for others has done nothing but turn the planet against her with the identical rate of pure saturated hatred if not made her apear to be some form of ranting, raving lunatic that she very much is. I do wish for her the passionate anger, depression, and the bruised feeling of those she so chooses to freely fib and complain about. Anne is nothing more than a symbol hatred.

The real question here is, why in the world would someone like Anne Coulter have the position in politics that she does? My answer, well, who really knows these days. But I bet if Anne took a step back and took a good look at what she's doing, she probably wouldn't even know why either. The woman is just plain old crazy. I think mental better describes it. I really wonder how she can live with herself and the things she says. Bottom line: Her calling is something more like a patient in a psyciatric rehabilitation center.

A question for Anne: If you want America's attention, why the hell would you use such hatred towards it and it's citizens in your speeches and crap? Anyone could do a better job than you at getting attention. It's a simple no brainer that couldn't be any simpler than it already is. If you can't figuere it out (and it seems you really can't) then just go jump off a bridge or something. Then MAYBE you'll get SOMEONES attention!

Anne is trying too hard for any kind of attention of the people. She even comitted plagerism in her latest and "stupidest book yet" from what i hear. A word for Coulter: Just freakin' give it up! No one likes you or wants to hear what you have to say! And most importantly if you so want to say something then try to think about what it is you say first!!

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About Me

Started writing at 5. Won a playground storytelling contest at 8. In my 50s I got 2 nominations for the Bram Stoker Award by the Horror Writers Association. In 2001, my novella "God Screamed and Screamed, Then I Ate Him," was first. In 2010, I was named Best Narrator for 2009 by the StarShip Sofa in Great Britain.
In 2002, I adapted and directed an audio version of Gene Wolfe's "The Tree Is My Hat." The show had Neil Gaiman in the cast and the script was my second Stoker nod. Fun, but not as much as the playground contest.
As associate producer of the "Hyde & Seeke" tv series, I wrote, directed and supervised production throughout the show's first season. That was fun.
In 2003, "Catching" was Stoker Recommended and received Honorable Mention in the Annual YEAR'S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR antho. "So Many Tiny Mouths" was so-mentioned the next year.
My first novel, JUST NORTH OF NOWHERE; was published in 2007. A mess of fiction will be out in 2010...much of which is still being written. Look for DRINK FOR THE THIRST TO COME.
I live in Chicago and am married to Tycelia, the love of my life. That’s the ultimate fun!